A user, who I will not name at this time, has, I believe, shown up on this board with at least three identities for the purpose of selling high end whistles on this board. The pattern in these cases has been that the individual rarely, if ever, posts about anything other than the sale of high-end whistles. In the cases I’m aware of, some sales have gone well and some have been more than a little problematic. I’ve deleted a username which I am 99% certain is just a new account of a person previously banned for violating board policies.
This person may well pop-up again. My advice is not to do business with someone who doesn’t have a track record of being a participating member of this community. Look at the number of posts, look at all of the person’s posts and look for a pattern of coming on the board and posting almost exclusively “for sale” messages of high-end whistles. Ask around. Ask a moderator for advice. Ask anyone whose post count is high enough to suggest a history of being around for awhile.
Most transactions on these boards appear to go off well, but bad apples come and go.
I had some communication with this guy. (I’m pretty sure it’s the same fella). He tried to come across as being some kind of philanthropist…not really interested in making a profit. That got me suspicous from the get-go.
Would it be wise to perhaps create another forum/subforum just for instrument sales? This might make it easier to regulate. Another forum (albeit a nonmusical one) similarly created a separate section for sales/Ebay adds.
I like the FS/WTB in the whistle forum if it’s whistles. I, and perhaps others, would not go looking to see what’s for sale every day, because I’m not “looking” to buy a whistle every day. However, when a FS pops up, I often check it out to see if it interests me. And I’ve bought a whistle from a forum member after clicking because I was curious. And there’s not so many of them that it’s a big distraction.
I understand the desire to be fair … however I don’t really understand the point of warning us, if you’re not going to name names. How are we supposed to be careful about buying from this seller if we don’t know who we are being careful about? Can you please explain a bit more about this situation?
Without the judge, jury and all parties being in the same room, it is impossible to be 100% sure what really transpired in a transaction and who was to blame. The bottom line is that a name once-named cannot be unnamed and we’re all aware of the potential for fall-out such an act carries. I believe Dale has given us enough info to make us cautious about doing business with anyone who doesn’t have an established presence on the board.
I’m right in the middle of a fight to get my money back from this couple. The whistle they sent me was nothing like they described. Plus it took a month to receive the low D that was advertized for $200 the last week of April. I filed a complaint with paypal. I’m hoping to win my case. If others bought a whistle from this couple, I hope you paid with paypal. And they will help you to retrieve your money.
You are only covered if the seller with whom you are dissatisfied is determined by Paypal to be a cheat-- and your money will only be refunded if the seller has sufficient funds in his Paypal account to cover your transaction. So if you paid $100 and the seller only keeps a balance of $20, you are out of luck, even if Paypal deems the seller to be bad news.
That’s not true if the seller has a credit card or bank account connected to the Paypal account. If that’s the case and Paypal deemed the seller to be bad news they will charge the remaining $80 to the credit card without asking the seller any questions.
You should also remember that you have protection through your credit card issuer. You will have to choose which route to take though. If you start a chargeback procedure through your credit card issuer Paypal will not help you dealing with the rougue seller. They will however pass on the chargeback to the seller so the outcome is the same. It is also the reason why some sellers have been reluctant to accept Paypal. Some people used the chargeback procedure to get items for free as there was nothing the seller could do to protect themselves against customers starting a chargeback after receiving the goods.
The main thing to keep in mind is that you should not buy anything from someone you don’t trust. If the deal seem to good to be true it usually is…
How about a “Sticky” of what company’s and individuals are straight shooters for folks like myself that is looking for a whistle. That way there would be less of a chance of being ripped off and give folks a more reasonable chance of getting a straight deal.
In my case , if anyone has one to let go, I am looking for a reasonably price tunable Low D whistle.
Thanks for the warning. Am new to this but not so green that something seeming too good to be true about a low d whistle probably is! Your post and the history confirms my suspicions. Or have I really missed a bargain?!
Great site. Thanks
